A Lego Tintin set inspired by a fan's design has officially blasted off, and it's available to pre-order now ahead of an April 1 release date. (No, this isn't an April Fool's - it really is due to land next month.)
The "Lego Tintin Moon Rocket" is a massive, 1,200-piece monster set designed for ages 18+ and made for display. The iconic red and white ship from the Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon books obviously takes center stage, but the kit also features five minifigures: Tintin, Captain Haddock, Thomson and Thompson, and Professor Calculus in space suits with helmets and oxygen accessories. (Yes, Snowy the dog is included too. If he wasn't, there would be riots from fans of the best Lego sets.) This puts it on par with other models of a similar size, though it's a bit bigger than the Lego Snoopy set I fell in love with last month.
So far, fans seem pretty happy with the result. On a reddit thread discussing the reveal, users like scuac notes that it's an "Instant-buy for me" (though they do add that they wish "it had a bit more interiors than just the very top, but that would have required a bigger scale"). Meanwhile, Ok_North_7224 suggests it's a "Day one buy." While there are some complaints about the lack of interactivity or the plainness of the rocket itself, most responses are trending toward the positive.
Personally, I'm somewhere in the middle. I think it's a really neat ode to the retro-futuristic source material, and there's no denying how eye-catching the rocket is. Those minifigs are perfect too, and I appreciate that the cockpit can be opened up in the ship's nosecone. However, I can't help thinking it's missing something. I think that's largely down to how the original Ideas build this is based on, which got approved in June last year, featured a launch pad and scaffolding. There weren't any minifigures, true, but it bulked out what can otherwise feel like a somewhat sparse build. Again, that's not to say I dislike the finished product. It's just that I can understand why some aren't over the moon for it.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
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